Mid-week skiing

There isn't much that could have made this afternoon skiing more enjoyable.  Only more family with us to share the beautiful afternoon, fantastic snow, and fabulous scenery could have improved it.  I thought the mountain would be crowded as it is NH school vacation week.  But no.  All our neighbors must be so sick of winter that they went somewhere warm for this week.  And so we skied with only a handful of other folks.

We spent the first hour or so on the bunny slopes; getting out ski legs underneath us.  On one of the rides up, I asked my Lovey Lamb if he wanted to try one of the other chair lefts and bigger slopes.  He shrugged his shoulders and seemed to indicate a yes.

And so we headed over to Ramrod Quad for a slightly bigger adventure.

No lines

On the way up, close to the top of the lift, I noticed tree decorations.  On closer inspection, it appeared as though some young ladies had tossed their undergarments aside along with Mardi Gras beads.  I know it isn't good behavior to litter, undress in public, or toss our clothing into the trees, but something about the display made me smile.  I felt a little guilty taking pictures and at the same time, trying to convey that this was not an activity I endorsed. Not sure I succeeded in my verbal message when my actions said something else.

That is just an aside.  What made the day magical was the snow conditions and Selim's skiing improvement by leaps and bounds.  By leaving the green circle trails and going over to the blue squares, he was forced to use his turning skills to ski in control.  The steep slopes and wide trail aided in his success.  My phone ran out of battery before I could capture the move that he made as he ended each run.  He would open his arms out wide and tilt his head up just a bit as if he was embracing the whole experience and couldn't contain his excitement.   It filled my heart with joy as I watched him make that move.  I don't know that he noticed that he made that gesture at the bottom of each slope, but I sure did.

At the end of the day, Robert took him up the top of mountain, so that he could see the view.  My legs were shot and I didn't want to risk a fall and ruining the perfect afternoon, so I didn't go with them.  I made two more trips up Ramrod and then waited at the bottom for them to come down from the top.  Both made it down safely and happily.

It felt so good to be out in the fresh air, not freezing cold, and getting exercise.  Riding the lifts with Robert is always fun because he explains that the branches on the snow over on the right were made by hungry porcupines, and the trails just over there were made by mice because you can see the tracks their tails made...or pointing out where the squirrel changed his mind about crossing the open space and instead, ran back up the tree.  Although I didn't get to the top for the spectacular view, I did get a partial sighting of the lake.

We had a great five hours -- 3 1/2 of skiing, and the before and after activity.  Both Selim and I felt that we were there way longer than that.  And to think that I worked a 1/2 day in the morning and only had to take four hours of annual leave to have such a vacation-like afternoon.  We ended the day with a cup of hot chocolate in the lodge and said to each other that we need to return, at least once more before the snow melts.  With more nights of below zero temperatures expected this week, that melting won't be happening any time soon.